http://youtu.be/iQY5cNawJXQMy various attempts to self rescue on my Revolution 11 kayak. I learned a lot during these 7 attempts in calm water, close to shore and a dock. I have an abridged copy showing just the capsize and successful rescue, but I thought seeing what I did wrong is just as instructive. Fast forward ahead if not interested. I have since purchased a Sidekick AMA that will act like a paddle float. If not deployed, I will always bring at least one with me. It easilty inflates with just a few good breaths and is easy to install.The leak into the hull was at the forward hatch. The hinge strap was holding the lip of the hatch away from the seal. I readjusted it but have not tested it yet. One lesson learned is that a capsize can happen very quickly. The situation I simulated was just turning around like you would to retrieve something behind. It is very stable IF you keep your butt in the seat. Hang your feet over the side if you need to get something in the back. Similar capsizes have happened on all of the Hobie models, or any other kayak for that matter.

Nice video. It shows the importance of practicing and getting familiar with your equipment. I did the same thing with my Outfitter. The Outfitter was very stable when climbing back on. Both my wife and I did it without much issue. Now I have an Oasis. I look forward to trying this on that hull to see how it behaves. I suspect it could be more like your Revo, which would be good to know. Thanks for the demo.

Would it not be better mounting from the bow or stern and straddling? A fit person could probably mount horse style. someone less fit could drag themselves at 90 degrees to the boat until they got to the cockpit, then turn and they would be aboard.

I reckon I could mount from the side by placing a leg in first and then rolling in.

But I'm 5 foot 1, young (36) and have a low centre of gravity and can run round a circle of windsurf boards for hours until the Sailing school instructors get bored and concede I have completely smashed their record and they are going to the pub to drown their sorrows.

I tried mounting from the front and rear and quickly gave up. The boat had too much flotation and was too high to pull down. I also had lots of floation with my PFD and entrapped air in the drysuit so i couldn't get good leverage. The Revo 11 floats very high in the water with lots of bouyancy which is a good thing unless you are outside trying to get in.

On thing you noted was spot on based on my tries and watching other videos. "I reckon I could mount from the side by placing a leg in first and then rolling in". The secret is to pull up then roll to your back in one quick motion. You saw how stable the kayak was when inside in the sitting position. I learned a lot from my dummy moves. I need to practice this some more.

I practiced this in full bulky, winter gear and had some water in my dry suit. I liked the worst case practice. I live in the Pacific NW and the water here is VERY cold. If I were in a swim suit + PFD, it would have been much easier.

I am in pretty good shape and have run half-marathons, and have very good upper body strength, but I am a 67 year old geezer. No doubt I was tired, especially my arms, since I did the test after spending three hours in the water scrubbing the bottom and replacing the zincs on my boat. I thought it would be representative of the condition I would be in after a long day fishing and hauling in the big ones! I hope that others do some practice self-rescues and come up with a reliable technique consistant with their abilities and strength. It is also fun, you will learn a lot, and it could save your life.

Agree, great video and something that is crucial to just go do in a controlled environment, and before it's a forced wet exit. When you need the skill and its practiced, its like autopilot and there wont be any panic or guesswork.

I noticed your lifejacket rode up on your back quite a bit. A life jacket can really get in the way of a reentry, so make sure that puppy is tight. There are some buoyancy wet suits on the market as well, these are ace in my opinion as they make an reentry that much easier without the bulk of a traditional vest. Might check a kite board shop to see one in person (I use one - I love it).

The other great aspect of doing these drills; it makes you a lot more mindful of how you secure your gear. I lost a drive and a GoPro in ocean earlier this year in Big Sur on a big wave wipeout. DOH!

I use a low head technique followed by a quick hip-pop to get back into my boat (and its just 22" wide). Epic has done some great video tutorials on this... see below.

Oh, one other thing about side entry with gear - its super important to force yourself as low into the water and then launch up and over the boat. It's counter intuitive, but it really makes a difference. The goal being to make it one smooth movement to remount.

Another option you might look into; keep a piece of webbing (like a climbers long sling) tied to a biner, that is clipped to your revo's handle. On the "wet" end of the cord, you can tie off a loop to step your foot into. I've seen this on some traditional kayaker/s rigs as a stirrup. Nice peace of gear to help a rider use their leg strength to get back into the boat (the arms go first in cold water!).

_________________"Never mistake a clear view for a short journey." - Cowboy Proverb

I have a Tandem Oasis, and have never capsized, even in big water ( knocks on wood, doomed for sure now). I have, however, practiced self-rescue much to the amusement of some beach-goers.

I'm a big guy with decent body strength.

If you're with another boat or partner, they are a lot easier to get into with help. Hold down one side while they get up the other. Reach across and grab their leg or life vest to give a boost.

A pair of swimfins really helps. Learned this while doing some snorkeling off the kayak. This is one thing in a number of these videos I see people leaving off: the power of kicking to lift you out of the water.

Last resort: take off the PFD . It can get in the way of some people's ample belly. The PDF can then be used as a LADDER. Open it up, and put one strap around the drive pedals. You now have an arm hole hanging over the side of the boat to put your knee/foot in and get leverage to step up and get your belly up on the rail. (Also always figured I could sling my paddle over the side with my bow rope to create a step, but haven't tested that theory).

Both myself and my kayaking younger daughter have practiced reboarding with the PFD slung over the side. Works like a charm.

There is no "one way" because there is no one-kind of human.

To the guy who built a ladder out of PVC:I would think using my PFD slung over the side does the same thing. I also have a bow rope which could be slung over the side with a foot loop to do the same thing.

Last edited by sunday on Fri Aug 10, 2012 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Some really interesting stuff on this thread, and very necessary because the Revo11 is just that tippy. I had a mirage Sport for a year and never capsized, but within 2 months of Revo ownership, capsized 1.5 miles from shore. My fishing buddy was very helpful in calming me down and reiterating the important points of re-entry from the side of the yak.

I used my legs to propel forward and lunge onto the kayak grabbing the opposite side by the handle, then shimmy my way on up, one leg at a time. from a "belly flop" position, I then twisted into seated position. Not graceful at all, but I made it on my first attempt; thats adrenaline for you!

Excellent points on PFD sizing and use as an emergency ladder, didnt think of that one!

A new owner of a Revo 13. Took it out in calm water for first try, after reading these posts and watching the video. Had set up a rope and foot loop, in case. But found that with the Mirage drive in, it was easy to right the boat after a ( deliberate ) capsize, just pull on the drive mechanism. Then one hand on the near side rail, one kick to get the other hand onto the far rail, and one more big kick put me in the cockpit, belly down, then just roll into the seat and sit up. Far less drama than with a conventional sit-in kayak, where after you get yourself back in, you have to bail out the entire boat without capsizing it again while still full of water.Then I took out the drive, and inserted the plug, just to see what difference it made. That was much harder, since there is nothing to get a grip on to right the boat. Without a line, the only option was to go back underneath and flip the boat from inside, one hand on each of those really good side carry handles. With a line tied to one handle its much easier, just pass the line over the bottom of the ( capsized ) boat, and pull from the other side, a foot in the near side carry handle works as a good lever. That is about the simplest and easiest. Once righted, the entry is as before. I tried at least 3 or 4 more times in the one session, and found with some practice I could get back in with little effort. But then I am pretty agile and strong, although 68. Just my 5 cents.

I don't want to be too contentious but I really dunno what all the fuss is about - you fall off, you climb back on - any reasonably fit person should be able to manage that and if you can't, then I question if you should be out kayaking in the first place.

Funnily enough (and in case anyone thinks I don't know what I am talking about) I capsized while sailing (and fishing) on my Adventure this very weekend in some reasonably sized swells and a nice breeze - I was a couple of ks offshore at the time.

The capsize was caused by my lack of attention to the sail when a white cap, hitting me from the quarter, slewed the boat around: a broad reach in (just) whitecapping swells is just about the trickiest point of sail in these boats I find.

I had the sail up (with boom-batten in) & cleated off, the daggerboard down, a trolling lure out, 2 rods on board plus fish bin, knife, scaler, mirage drive plug and landing net on the deck in the load tray/the under the rear bungees and a waterbottle in the rear holder. My hat was in the (empty) fishbin because it had been blown off by the breeze earlier and was soaked through. The drive wads clipped in to the drivewell. Also on board (in the boat) were GPS/fishfinder, lead-acid battery, 2 otterboxes (with spare parts, radio, keys, tools, etc.) , loads of fishing tackle, my C-tug cart and my shoes.

The boat completely inverted and as soon as it hit the vertical the daggerboard slid out of its slot and made its way to Davey Jones' locker (A good lesson! the replacement daggerboard has a s/s spring-clip on it so that it can be clipped on the same as everything else!).

To right the boat all I had to do was pull on the opposite side of the upturned hull from the windward side of the boat and up she popped - easy peasy with everything still in place except my hat which also disappeared. I haven't needed to right a capsized kayak - possibly 5 or 6 in total - but it has never proved to be difficult to get the boat upright again in this way (sail up or sail stowed - neither is particularly tricky).

Thereafter my technique for reboarding is to pull myself over the boat across the seat as though I were hauling myself out of a swimming pool, so that my belly/hips/centre of gravity are over the seat and I am balanced on the boat, then it is relatively easy to balance, turn over, get your behind into the seat and then lift your feet & legs into the cockpit.

The key is not to panic and to be methodical but it really isn't hard to right one of these boats even with a good load on board and the sail up, nor should it be too difficult to get back on board if you are reasonably fit (can you pull yourself out of a swimming pool?) and think about what you are doing.

Of course when you get the boat upright everything is in chaos - you need to sort out the sail, then get all the stuff that has fallen out (but is still tied to the boat) sorted out (like rods back into holders etc) but it isn't too hard. And then it is back to the beach to get everything washed off.

I posted this video so others would learn from it as I did. A few things to note:

1. This was my Revo 11 maiden launch. I had no feel or familiarity with the boats stability, characteristics, or even where the good places to grab were. I was learning everything, not just re-boarding. I have 7 other kayaks, all sit inside. They have a much different feel.

2. I nearly made it up on the first attempt but I didn't, so I tried other techniques. The last one that worked was the same as the first one. The secret I have learned from watching others is to quickly boost up, then roll over on your back in the direction that rolls you into the seat, not the direction that rolls you on the edge of the kayak, all in one smooth motion.

3. The biggest reason I was not able to get a good boost onto the kayak is my life preserver was badly adjusted. You can see that it rode up with the chest straps under my arms. The top was several inches above my shoulders. This was my first use of a dry suit and I adjusted the PFD straps all the way out. Big mistake. This caused two bad problems. I was starting much deeper in the water and the pockets and straps on the front of the vest kept hanging up on the side handles and steering handle. On my last successful attempt, you will note that my vest is tangled on the steering handle. This too was a great lesson in what to avoid. I have since cinched down tight on the vest staps and am considering a crotch strap like we use on the kids PFDs.

4. I did the test after spending at least 4 hours in the water scrubbing the bottom of my boat and changing the zincs. My arms were tired, but that made it better experiment when I fanally got to the Hobie.

5. Doing the test in cold <50 degree water and wearing a drysuit with bulky warm wear underneath and in dive shoes is very different than doing the same thing in shorts in 75 degree water and sandals or no shoes. Leaving the zipper open on the dry suit added water inside the dry suit as well so it was heavy. I could have edited this stuff out, but there are lessons to be learned there too. I actually expected to be ridiculed for my error, but posted it anyway so others could learn. I figured it would be a good test simulating swamped chest high waders. So far I have received mostly positive comments.

6. I have since installed a Sidekick AMA outriggers which will eliminate the problem I had pulling the kayak over on me. Best of all, it would be much tougher to flip it in the first place. I tried. Even if I didn't have the floats in place, the cross bar is always installed giving me an excellent grab handle.

7. Though I am 67 years old, I was in reasonable shape since I was training for a half marathon to be run about a month later. When swimming off the back of my large boat, I am able to pull myself up onto the swim step which is higher than a poolside. Besides, I would rather take my chances laughing and doing Hobie stuff I enjoy and others can learn from than sitting back and letting the incurable cancer I have pull me under while on dry land.

8. Thanks to everyone for your constructive comments. Keep them coming! I have a thick skin.